With an opening weekend take of $28 million, Tom Cruise’s new sci-fi film “Edge of Tomorrow” did even worse than his last sci-fi movie, “Oblivion.” In the last eight years, Cruise has had only one hit (2011’s “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol”). Cruise is near the end of his run as a major movie star, though we’ll see how “Mission: Impossible 5” does when it comes out next year.
Here are the top nine movie stars whose careers are in trouble.
Russell Crowe
It’s been over for Crowe for some time; “Noah,” spun as a hit, did only okay ($100 million in the US, which may cover the movie’s marketing costs, but won’t make much of a dent in the gargantuan production cost). The last time he was the leading attraction in a movie that made a lot of money was 2001, for “A Beautiful Mind.” (2007’s “American Gangster” also did well, but Denzel Washington gets the lion’s share of the credit for that.) Audiences never really warmed to Crowe in the first place: “Gladiator” is the only other hit he’s ever had as a leading man.
Compare that to his long string of flops: “Robin Hood,” “The Next Three Days,” “Body of Lies,” “State of Play,” “Cinderella Man,” “A Good Year,” “Proof of Life,” “The Insider,” etc.
George Clooney
Hollywood still loves him (he’s got the lead role in next year’s sci-fi extravaganza “Tomorrowland,” directed by “Ghost Protocol’s” Brad Bird). Entertainment journalists still love him. Does the audience? If you don’t count his small role in “Gravity,” he’s never had a single big moneymaker apart from the three “Ocean’s” movies and 2000’s “The Perfect Storm,” in which he was the third banana behind Mark Wahlberg and a big-ass wave.
Colin Farrell
The spectacular failure of this year’s “Winter’s Tale” and 2012’s “Total Recall” remake have driven home the point that nobody cares about Colin Farrell. Every movie in which he was top-billed has flopped.
Every one.
Steve Carell
His success on “The Office” never really translated to mainstream appeal in the US, and audiences overseas are even less fond of him. He’ll continue to be a valuable supporting player and indie actor, and if the Cannes reviews for his upcoming drama “Foxcatcher” are accurate, he could shift into serious roles in quality art-house films. But don’t expect to see him starring in a lot more comedies after his movies “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” “Dinner for Schmucks” and “Dan in Real Life” lost millions.
Adam Sandler
Gross-out comedies don’t cost very much, so Sandler’s movies only need to do okay to turn a profit. The problem is, except for “Grown Ups” and its sequel, there’s a steady downward trend for the performance of his comedies, and they’re starting to lose money.
“Blended” was so bad, Sandler had to go looking for someone other than his longtime partners at Sony Pictures (Warner Brothers) to fund it.
The picture is losing millions.
Johnny Depp
He can do no wrong with the “Pirates” movies — the last one earned over a billion dollars, the vast majority of that earned overseas — but the failure of “Transcendence,” “The Lone Ranger,” “Dark Shadows,” “The Rum Diary” and “The Tourist” doesn’t bode well.
Perhaps he can bounce back with the musical “Into the Woods,” due at Christmas, or the Whitey Bulger movie “Black Mass,” due next year. His best bet for a rebound, though, is the “Alice in Wonderland” sequel “Through the Looking Glass,” due in 2016.
Will Smith
Generally considered the world’s biggest box-office star, Smith got taken down a peg with the failure of last year’s “After Earth,” while the paycheck job “Men in Black 3” actually did well, grossing over $600 million worldwide. Still, it’s hard to escape the idea that he’s no longer buzzworthy (turning down “Django Unchained” to do “MIB3” was a bonehead move).
Worse, unlike Depp, he doesn’t have much coming up: The only movie he’s done in the last year is what looks like a low-key rom-com called “Focus,” due in February.
He’s also expressed interest in doing a movie on football concussions. So, no “I Am Legend” there.
Vince Vaughn
It turns out playing the same character every time can catch up to you. Vaughn is riding a string of four flops going back to 2009’s “Couples Retreat.” Next February, he’ll be seen in a comedy that is as yet untitled, but he’s getting too old to play the fast-talking young schemer.
Matt Damon
“Bourne” and “Ocean’s” were great while they lasted, but Damon couldn’t sell audiences on “Hereafter,” “The Adjustment Bureau,” “We Bought a Zoo,” “Promised Land” or “Elysium.”
His plan to star as Whitey Bulger in a Ben Affleck-directed movie fell through when Johnny Depp agreed to star in a different Bulger project, and he’s currently got an empty acting schedule.